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Entries with the tag: nbc sports network

STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 8, 2014 – Bob McKenzie, the longtime TSN Hockey Insider with more than 35 years of reporting experience, is joining NBC Sports Group’s NHL coverage. The announcement was made today by Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports & NBCSN. Flood also announced that TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger will join NBC Sports Group’s NHL coverage as a contributor. Both McKenzie and Dreger will continue in their respective roles for TSN in Canada.

McKenzie, generally regarded as the industry’s top Hockey Insider, will appear regularly across NBC and NBCSN throughout the NHL regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs. He will be an in-studio contributor to NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry telecasts, beginning tonight, and will provide on-site commentary at NHL All-Star Weekend, the Stanley Cup Final, and NHL Draft. Dreger will serve in a similar role, but less frequently.

ESPN averaged 1.3 million viewers in primetime during Q2, down 32% from the same period last year and the lowest primetime audience for the net in at least seven years. The 32% drop was the biggest decline among cable sports networks. ESPN was no doubt hurt by a sharp drop for its NBA Playoff coverage. The net’s 17 postseason telecasts averaged 4.0 million viewers, down 36% from 6.2 million viewers last year. ESPN was the beneficiary of a seven-game Heat-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals in ’12, whereas the net aired the Spurs sweep of the Grizzlies in the ’13 Western Conference Finals. Other cable sports nets seeing sharp Q2 drops in primetime viewership were ESPN2 (-12%) and NBA TV (-12%). Meanwhile, MLB Network saw a 20% primetime jump during Q2. The net averaged 232,000 viewers for its live games during the first half of the season, up 8% from the same period in ’12. NBC Sports Network also saw a 17% primetime jump, fueled by record-setting NHL postseason viewership, which also was up 17% from last season.

NBC Sports Network is averaging 448,000 viewers through 27 NHL games this season to date, putting the net on pace to have its best season yet. The net saw its previous high during the last rights deal with 348,000 viewers for games during the ’10-11 season. The net’s average during this lockout-shortened season also is up 35% from last season’s average of 332,000 viewers. Wednesday night rivalry games have helped aid the average this season.

Many sports fans (yours truly included) were hoping the introduction of the NBC Sports Network would finally mean real competition for the Worldwide Leader, ESPN. Not that ESPN is bad or evil, or that NBC would be the best thing in the history of sports on TV. But, that true competition would make ESPN better and would provide even more options for fans seeking to avoid staged debate, stale opinions, and endless crossover. However, as our friends at SportsBusiness Journal document in vivid detail, NBC Sports Network has actually done worse numbers than its predecessor Versus. In fact, NBCSN may be further away now from competing with ESPN than it was just 12 months ago.

How did we get here? And how can NBCSN look to recapture what momentum it’s already squandered? First, let’s take a look at some startling facts. The much maligned The Daily Line, you know, one of the worst sports shows in history, averaged twice as many viewers as NBCSN’s answer to SportsCenter, the daily NBC Sports Talk. Now, The Daily Line did have this going for it. But, how can NBCSN justify losing almost half its viewership from a craptastic mess into a legitimate sports/news program that was supposed to become the station’s flagship show? Yes, hot chicks mean viewers, but the dismal viewership of NBC Sports Talk is unfortunately a trend spreading across the entire network at its infancy.